The draft Regulations include plans for: New houses built in Ireland will be more environmentally friendly according to plans unveiled today by the government's Green party ministers. A 40% improvement in energy efficiency for new homes in 2008. A 40% reduction in CO2 emissions. A mandatory minimum renewable energy requirement in all new homes, such as solar heating systems. Mandatory levels of energy efficient fixed light fittings. Minimum standards on heating systems to ensure they are highly energy efficient.

The infrastructure for Britain's first wave farm is set to be given the go-ahead today, paving the way for a new generation of renewable energy technologies.

Greg Jaunich, a pioneer of Minnesota's wind-energy industry, has been charged by federal authorities for allegedly defrauding Xcel Energy and the state of Minnesota by overstating the amount of power being produced by wind generators he operated.

Danish researchers now suggest that in order to assess the overall environmental impact of wind power, however, the finite lifespan of wind turbines and the need to replace and recycle them must be taken into account.

The spaghettilike nightmare that forms many consumers' collection of phone chargers, headset connectors and data cables could be set to end after a major mobile-industry forum agreed to standardize on one type of connector.

A small backward step for copper, but a giant leap forward for sustainability. Now do the same thing for laptops please.

Intel plans to launch an effort called LessWatts.org on Thursday, a combination of open-source software and helpful hints to reduce power consumption of Linux servers, PCs and gadgets.

To evaluate the environmental impact of massive heat-pump introduction on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, dynamic simulations of the overall electricity-generation system have been performed for Belgium.

Compatible with the company's AM2 socket, the AMD Athlon 64 processor Models 2000+, 2600+, and 3100+ feature power envelopes of 8, 15, and 25 Watts, respectively.

Wave Hub, a large scale wave farm being developed off the coast of Cornwall, England, has cleared its last major regulatory hurdle. Yesterday, the British Government gave planning approval for the £28 million [US$ 55 million] project, which is scheduled to come online in 2009.

GridPoint, which makes a distributed power generation appliance, is in the process of raising more than $32 million in a fourth round of funding. GridPoint makes home storage appliances tied to renewable energy systems, such as a solar electric array.

Japan's Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd said it has developed a technology to make fuel cells without platinum, the precious metal used in the electrolyte process in existing hydrogen-based fuel cells. By using alkali, instead of acid, anion exchange membranes, Daihatsu's fuel cell can work with less costly metals which are less resistant to corrosion than platinum, such as cobalt or nickel, Daihatsu said in a statement, Reuters said

KEMA, in partnership with the civil engineering firm Bureau Lievense and technology illustrators Rudolph and Robert Das, has developed an "Energy Island" concept to store power generated from an offshore wind farm. The concept design is the initial result of an on-going feasibility study being conducted for Dutch energy companies.

Insensys, the leading provider of fibre optic load measurement systems for blades and Garrad Hassan the leading developer of pitch control algorithms have combined forces to develop an integrated package which enables turbine manufacturers to achieve significant reductions in rotor, shaft and tower loads. The collaboration is non exclusive and both organisations will continue to offer products and services independently of each other.

Eon UK is developing a giant battery designed to store electricity generated by wind farms and solar panels. Scientists at the energy group's technology centre in Nottingham aim to build a large-scale prototype that would be able to store one megawatt of electricity for four hours - the equivalent to 10m AA batteries and the same size as four articulated lorry containers.

THE Highlands and Islands are penalised by a "tax on geography" according to a report which reveals energy producers face crippling costs to connect consumers. Research found renewable energy producers in the region could pay 30 times more to connect to a national grid than counterparts in other parts of Europe.

...one step closer to building a magnetic-cooling system that promises energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and completely silent fridges

What is a flow battery? It's a battery with tanks of electrolytes that effectively lets the battery store more energy than normal batteries. The electrolyte flows or circulates through the system. The larger the tanks, the more electricity it can store. "They are cheaply made out of plastic. They are low maintenance," said Rick Winter, an executive at Deeya Energy, which makes flow batteries. The company has been busy this summer setting up manufacturing facilities in India

American Electric Power annouced that it is expanding its use of large-scale battery technology on its electricity grid by installing six megawatts of sodium sulfur (NAS®) batteries for storage of electricity to enhance reliability, allow for continued load growth, provide support for weak sub-transmission systems, avoid equipment overload and to offset intermittent wind power. AEP will be adding stationary sodium sulfur (NAS®) battery technology in its West Virginia and Ohio service territories next year. The company will also work with wind developers to identify a third location for NAS battery deployment ...to help offset the intermittent nature of wind generation.

Alpha Energy recently introduced its enhanced integrated solar power uninterruptible power supply. "As a UPS, the Solaris is the ideal solution for people or organizations wanting to minimize their carbon footprint, but have a critical power need. The Solaris lets you take advantage of free and clean solar power, and at the same time you can rest assured that in the event of a power outage, a supply of that solar energy is available for future use." The Solaris is a single-box solution providing up to 3.5kW of continuous power.